The Podcast Returns: The Xanax Kicked In For "Blue Jasmine"
Monday, August 5, 2013 at 5:00PM 
As we reach the final lap of summer, it's time to bring the podcast back for another Oscar season! Joining Nathaniel are Nick Davis, Katey Rich and Joe Reid.
This week we're talking about Nick's DVD Collection, Brooklyn Park Slope, New York Park Avenue, and Chicago moviegoing, whether or not Cate Blanchett is the frontrunner for Best Actress and what we think of the casting director's Oscar branch and the American Hustle trailer. But the bulk of the podcast is devoted to a Blue Jasmine breakdown. No not that kind of breakdown. Cate already covered the going mental part.
UPDATE: For those who are spoiler averse you might want to skip these parts:
11:40 - 12:16
14:07 - 14:54
18:20 - 19:37
Thanks Alice for pointing these reveals out.
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download it on iTunes.
Reader Comments (38)
Hurrah! Podcast! How spoilery is it concerning Blue Jasmine? Is it better to wait till I've seen it?
^ A little too spoilery for me, specially for a movie so yet unseen in so many places.
Suggestion: a spoiler alert in the recording itself does very little, you know when to start skipping parts, but how do you know when to press play again? So, what about a warning in the post telling not to listen from this point to that point?. I know it's too much asking, but just like yourself, I don't like being told plots.
Other than that, thanks for another funny podcast.
Don't listen if you haven't seen the movie. Joe Reid gave away a big fat spoiler.
I didn't even finish. I really want to see this movie untainted and I already have details on some of the fates of the primary characters.
I adore Joe's laugh.
And yeah, it's spoiler heavy. I had to skip a lot of it. I think nothing major was spoiled for me, though.
Damn you guys now I have to listen to this instead of going to sleep!
These podcasts should also be 5 hours long!
Hurrah!
Yay!
I will repost it here but great podcast and am glad it's back for a weekly schedule especially the day Anne Thompson and Kris Tapley announced their only doing 10 this awards season. Great chat and cannot wait until we get into the thick of the race and having Katey on three podcasts is good.
We try to be as un-spoilery as possible and, speaking for myself, I appreciate these reminders. I'll bear this in mind. At the same time, it's really difficult and often not that fruitful to discuss a movie in a substantial way and not be able to engage all the specifics. So waiting to listen until you've seen the movie or acknowledging that you may be trading some innocence about the film for the benefit of broader discussion might be the way to go. Then again, it's not my house and I don't make the rules. Nathaniel?
Glad people are enjoying, though! Next week we're on Fruitvale, which is pretty hard to "spoil" anyway.
Nick & Everyone -- i try really hard not to "spoil" movies in reviews because i personally DONT read reviews before i see things for that reason. But for podcasts... well, i think you can always assume that there will be some spoilerage because we're coming from a place of a group of people discussing a movie they've just seen and in every such group discussion nobody worries about spoilers since we've all seen the movie.
so there will always be a danger of that though i suppose we could have prefaced this one a little since the movie does have a few surprises worth saving until you're watching it.
You guys are the best and funniest Oscar podcasters ever. Glad you'll be doing this weekly.
Argh, I'm torn because I want to listen as soon as each podcast comes out - you guys are just one of the best awards podcasts around and I personally find your conversations to be so listenable due to your easy rapport and senses of perspective - but spoilers are gonna make it hard this awards season. I suppose that's always been the curse of those living outside of the US. I didn't mind it with this one since Blue Jasmine isn't really on my most anticipated list but some Oscar movies will be delayed until 2014 in my country and some movies don't even have a release date yet (eg. Fruitvale Station) so it's unlikely I'll be able to listen to you guys until maybe even after the awards ceremony itself.
@Alice: I have lived both out of the country and in a rural U.S. market, so I'm sympathetic to how hard it is not to know too much about a movie in advance. Again, we can definitely make an effort to mark spoilers or to be vague enough about details while still communicating clearly to people who know the film we're discussing. But like Nathaniel says, we may not be immaculate about it, so it's up to you. Thanks, though, for your compliments, and for being so even-handed about this!
Thanks Nick. It's really nice to raise a concern and not be dismissed rudely and I think you guys are usually really good about not spoiling too heavily. It might just be that some spaces on the internet have started to default to a really stringent spoiler policy and people have become complacent about expecting it everywhere. But I definitely see your point about how it would limit your discussions and I would rather listen you guys give your funny and insightful thoughts on movie later on in the year rather than have it effect the flow of your conversations.
Also if anyone's reading this and hasn't listened to the podcast yet, I re-listened and the spoilery bits seem to be:
11:40 - 12:16
14:07 - 14:54
18:20 - 19:37
And also - so rude of me to forget - thanks as always for the podcast! For a grown adult, I'm really disproportionately excited that we're going to hearing more frequently from you guys over this season.
Such a lovely evening surprise! I wasn't expecting ya'll to do a summer wrap-up 'cast till Sept or something so this is definitely welcomed. :D
Ugh YES @ all all the agreements regarding all the negative aspects of Blue Jasmine. A fantastic lead performance in the middle of a tricky movie, for sure. Definitely some quality-elevating work Blanchett is doing here. Forklifting an under-cooked screenplay for all she's worth, really.
11:40 - 12:16
14:07 - 14:54
18:20 - 19:37
^Thanks, Alice. I can only speak for myself, but that was all I was asking for. It has never been my intention to tell someone else what (not) to say.
Thanks guys for one more lovely podcast!
And thanks Alice for helping us avoid the spoilers.
great that you will be doing these weekly
Already a little Blue Jasmine'd out.... Not even September... Let's see if Cate's buzz can hold out...
Havn't listened to it yet (will listen once I get home). I think it will come down to Blanchett Vs. Streep. Since both roles are quite similar I bet it will be the narrative in the race this year. will they be resist to reward Streep for her fourth (so soon) for undertaking such a demanding role? Or will it be the the time to reward Cate Blanchett who is deemed as the successor of Streep. If "Blue Jasmine" was handled by Weinstein, Cate Blanchett would have this locked up. If the angle of being robbed of a win for "Elizabeth" is emphasized, she's going to take the gold. However, we still have many months upon us but it sure is exciting. i think Judi Dench or Amy Adam will be the spoiler. And they also have great narrative.
I think Dench's narrative may trump all performances this year....I think Blanchett will take the Winslet slot for Labor Day...
I feel like this Oscar season is going to be ripe with category fraud for actresses. Osage County seems like a given to do that with Streep and Roberts but it would not surprise if Amy Adams got put in supporting just because it feels more in nature to put her in supporting, plus I cannot see Oscar voters doing another, let's a David O. Russell movie nominations in all four actor categories (You figure Bale, Cooper, and Renner are possibilities in their categories and the Academy loves Jennifer Lawrence) again so it may be risky for Adams to try and go lead unless she just outright is the star of the movie.
Anyway, the undisputed leads:
Dench
Blanchett
Bullock
Watts
Kidman
Delpy
Winslet
Thompson
This is Where it Gets A Little Gray and We Have to Really See the Movies to Figure It Out:
Streep (I know, I know. Violet is a lead but the entire movie is one huge ensemble.)
Roberts (Co-lead and primed for potential category fraud.)
Adams (I found it hilarious that somebody at Gold Derby has not only Lawrence in lead(!) but a contender when she was definitely a late addition to the cast that were already in filming)
Oprah (She is technically the female lead and lord knows Oprah campaigning might be the most entertaining thing of the season that she might swallow the movie whole along with overshadowing a lot of the lead performances even if she is nominated for supporting. I want this to happen so badly.)
Octavia Spencer- Have not seen the movie but I've heard both lead or supporting could fit her role. I think supporting.
Wildcards:
Bejo or Cotillard- One foreign nominee, particularly either a previous nominee or winner that got raves in major festivals might get momentum that possibly beats the biopics and Bullock (who while going against type is also in the least Oscar-friendly genre).
And also, given that someone once yelled at me for **spoiling** Zero Dark Thirty- yes, that really happened- I am in a IDGAF mode with people who panic at spoilers because I am starting to find it a little beyond parody at this point. I find it difficult to really think if a movie was spoiled it ruins the viewing experience. There are so many classic films I have seen where I knew the ending before I ever even saw a frame but the actual movie experience of seeing them is such a different beast from just being told and knowing it ahead of time. I know people disagree but growing up at the height of anti-spoiler culture has left me super jaded.
I agree if Dame Dench is indeed strong, she might sweep like Dame Mirren. Such an exciting year!
CMG -- Octavia is 100% supporting. She's not in very much of the movie and the movie isn't about her. but i don't think this is the heighth of spoiler culture. I think that happened decades ago when they didn't show you 15-20 minutes of every movie with clips and multiple trailers before release ;)
The Infamous -- i know a lot people really feel like Blanchett was robbed for Elizabeth but I honestly think this is not something that occurs to AMPAS, particularly since they did already hand her an Oscar.
Nathaniel- Thanks for telling me that. Those too categories look stacked. Somebody has to be a in a real turkey for there not to be so many Sophie's choices.
But I remember looking at older trailers and essentially giving a 3-4 minute trailer that was more of a summary that gave away plot points. **shrugs**
Nat - But she waz robbed! Lol. I think however I do feel that the Academy voters are aware of that Best Actress'98 debacle since it is one of the most discussed topics of Oscar history. I strongly believe this because I remember when Entertainment Weekly did a poll with Oscar voters for Oscar recount a few years back. Most of them would have voted for Cate Blanchett instead of Gweneth Pathrow. Plus, this also explains her throwaway nomination for 'The Golden Age'. They really had a hardon for her with the Queen Elizabeth role. Seriously that film was a turd but they couldn't resist voting for her "robbed" win role.
I wonder what would it have been like if she did win for "Elizabeth"? Would she have received as many nominations as she has had so far? Or would she fall into the same catagory as Marion Cotillard (also forever compared to the winning role and has yet secured a nomination after).
These NEED to be at least monthly this year. You guys are just the most fun, light, and Okonedo-filled podcast out there, Oscar-wise. Haven't listened yet, but I'm sort of saving it for a time to savor it. :)
SPOILER: Nathaniel, et al., I disagree that the movie would have gained by having the "talking to herself" reveal at the end. That feels contrived and reductive to me. Woody's willingness to let this woman fly off the handle from the get-go, from well-before the film even starts, I think is incredibly exciting. The "reveal" to me comes in the babysitting scene (best scene of the year so far...?) when she mentions to the boys how she was treated after her hospitalization. Things...are...BAD before we meet her. And they ain't getting better.
Also, I think Sally's doing incredibly layered work that seems much more influenced by Woody the director than Woody the writer. I'd like to see her get some notice.
I've never connected so fully to Blanchett's work. I'm surprised already to say I hope she takes this season by storm.
And I've been waiting for Meryl's Violet for years now, but I think Blanchett's already showed us how that show is done.
Also want to throw a thought in there about the Michael Stuhlbarg character. At my screening, people laughed in shock at first, but as the scene pursued, I was jaw agape, and I felt everyone around me was too. I actually appreciated Woody pushing the aggression of sexual impropriety amongst people who aren't nominal "degenerates" or "failures" -- this kind of abject treatment of women happens all over the place, and wow, was it terribly uncomfortable and provoking, even if it was the direct trajectory of the movie as a whole. Did it visualize Jasmine's victimhood too exactly? I don't know. Worked for me. Ouch.
So glad this is back. Every day is better with a Film Experience podcast.
Steve - thanks for sharing. that's an interesting perspective (both on Stuhlbarg and the defense of the 'talkign to herself' throughout). And damn but i loved that babysitting scene. right there with you on that one.
If there was an Oscar for best cast in an Oscar podcast - you guys will totally win!
@James87: Aw, that's so sweet - thanks!
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